The Moon in My Heart

The Marquis of Xinyang had a wife and a concubine, and both went into labor on the same day.

But the Marchioness died in childbirth, giving birth to a legitimate eldest son with a strange birthmark covering his face.

The Marquis of Xinyang deemed him inauspicious, named him Xie Yan, and gave him to a collateral branch of the family to raise.

His favored concubine gave birth safely to a healthy, lively, and clever boy.

The Marquis was overjoyed, named him Xie Yan, and promoted the concubine to wife.

As Xie Yan grew up, the Marquis treasured him and arranged an excellent match for him: Yin Chan, the daughter of the mighty Grand General Who Guards the Nation, whose name struck awe throughout the court.

All the young men of noble families envied him.

-

Everyone said Yin Chan was the most beautiful woman in the capital, born into a distinguished family, peerless in talent, proud as a goddess, and the finest of all young ladies.

Then the General's household fell, and Yin Chan became an orphan.

All the praise turned into words of mockery. What could a fallen young lady be proud of? In other people's eyes, her pride made her a rotten rose with thorns.

Alone and helpless, Yin Chan went to her betrothed's family.

Xie Yan looked at her with pity. "Father has already arranged my marriage to the daughter of the Minister of Revenue. If you're willing to be my concubine, I'll have a serious talk with Father. Whether he agrees or not, I'll bring you into the household..."

Yin Chan stared at the handsome young heir of the Marquis's household.

His tenderness seemed to him like an enormous favor bestowed upon her.

Yin Chan gave up hope, slapped him, broke off the engagement, and left.

Then she met a disfigured man.

His name was Xie Yan.

The crisscrossing scars on his face were horrifying to behold.

But he had the most intense feelings, surging toward her from every direction.

Yin Chan was deeply moved.

-

Xie Yan knew he was despicable, lowly, and ugly.

He had been loathed from the moment he was born.

But no one can forbid a blade of grass from looking up at the sun.

For four years, he harbored unspoken feelings and coveted a beautiful woman.

Until she became an orphan with no family left and went to seek refuge with her betrothed.

Panicked beyond measure, he ran up like a mad dog and hid behind a tree to spy on them.

That respectable family of high rank had ultimately abandoned his sun.

They had done so with the same decisiveness and honeyed hypocrisy with which they had abandoned him.

-

Xie Yan never imagined that Xie Yan would return to the Marquis's household.

Still less did he imagine that his wife would be the woman he had discarded like trash.

His disfigured legitimate elder brother, raised in their old home;

A beautiful, helpless orphan, like a vase.

Over and over, Xie Yan told himself that her family background no longer matched his status as the heir of the Marquis of Xinyang.

But the moment her bridal sedan arrived at his door, he learned what it meant to be consumed by unbearable pain.

Xie Yan couldn't understand how such an ugly man could be worthy of a lovely flower.

Until one day, he wandered near Xie Yan's courtyard.

The woman who had always been as noble as a phoenix lifted his elder brother's face in her hands, and with tenderness, solemnity, and boundless love, kissed each of his strange, sickening scars.

She kissed him again and again, lingering without end.

◆ Content Warnings and Reader's Guide ◆

1. The male lead is disfigured, and he will not recover.

2. This story contains extensive inner monologues and psychological descriptions. Read with caution.

3. No power struggles or domestic battles, just romance.

4. The setting is fictional.

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Four Uncle Is Poison

Only later did Xuxu learn that a disabled man lived in the most secluded garden in the residence.

He was her uncle in name, fourth in the family. Thin, frail, and weak, he was like rotten bamboo eaten through by insects, and he was not allowed to be seen by others.

As a child, Xuxu accidentally wandered in and pushed open the door. Her fourth uncle sat alone in a wheelchair, holding an old book, his features as lovely as the moon.

She stared, entranced, and thought, This must be the most beautiful person in the world.

For years afterward, her fourth uncle never stepped outside the garden.

Meanwhile, Xuxu, the legitimate daughter of the Xin family, grew into a graceful beauty, renowned throughout the capital.

-

A noble young lady from a prestigious family, peerlessly beautiful, she had even caught the attention of the Empress Dowager, who once wrote to Old Madam Xin about having Xuxu enter the palace to attend the Emperor.

Someone like Xin Xuxu could have been proud and haughty, but she had a soft heart and was so sweet that people couldn't help but cherish her.

Her grandmother said, "Xuxu, there's no harm in being a little spoiled."

So Xuxu thought she was already very willful. The day before, her cousin had tricked her into meeting him beneath a covered walkway and confessed his love in secret. She was so startled that she accidentally pushed him into the lake. Fortunately, a servant rescued him in time.

She also wondered what she should do if her cousin made another unwelcome advance.

As it happened, that day came very soon.

At her coming-of-age ceremony, dressed in her finery, with cloud-like hair and snowy skin, she fell into her cousin's trap in her own home.

With her head muddled by the drug, Xuxu stumbled into the quiet garden.

She thought that her fourth uncle, who was like an immortal, would surely save her from danger.

She had no idea that the man who had once been as graceful as bamboo had, over ten years of darkness, developed a sinister and despicable nature.

She saw him as green bamboo in human form, but in truth he was no more than the most venomous snake coiled around it.

-

In the seventh year of Yuanfeng, the newly appointed second-place graduate of the imperial examinations was compiling the history of Great Chu when he uncovered a yellowed file.

It recorded the story of the brilliant top graduate from ten years earlier.

Cui Shu.

He was the most radiant phoenix flower of that year.

Born to a poor family, he had placed first in all three imperial examinations and paraded through the streets on horseback with extraordinary elegance.

Yet the next day, he became the fourth master of the Duke's household. His legs had inexplicably been broken, and he would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.

The noble young ladies who admired him left in heartbreak.

The phoenix flower withered in a desolate garden.

Ten years later, Cui Shu wheeled himself out of the "prison" of the Duke's household of his own accord.

He went to the banquet where they were choosing a husband for Xuxu, and looked coldly at the many noblemen of prestigious families who admired her.

Someone recognized him and whispered about his presence.

So why had he come?

Cui Shu pressed his lips together. Xuxu was nowhere to be seen, so his icy gaze swept over the peacocks puffing up their feathers.

Hmph.

Showing off in public.

"To choose a husband," he said, solemnly issuing a warning.

[Reader's Guide and Content Warnings]

1. Both leads are sexually inexperienced; twelve-year age gap.

2. The male lead is disabled.

3. The plot is light, with the focus on romance.

4. The setting is fictional.

Theme: Wherever you are, stay true to yourself and keep moving forward.